Prior notice before coercive GST action upheld where investigation continued and no arrest proposal had been approved.

In GST investigation proceedings, the Delhi HC upheld a direction requiring seven days' prior notice before coercive action after dismissal of anticipatory bail applications, holding that it was not an impermissible blanket protection. The Court noted that no arrest proposal had yet been placed before the Commissioner for approval, but investigation was still continuing and the respondents were required to join it. The direction was confined to prior notice before coercive steps, preserved the Department's right to proceed in accordance with law, and allowed the respondents an opportunity to seek remedies if arrest was proposed.

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Issues: Whether, in proceedings arising out of GST investigation, the order directing seven days' prior notice before taking coercive action against the respondents after dismissal of their anticipatory bail applications was legally sustainable and amounted to impermissible blanket protection.

Analysis: The petitions concerned summons issued during an ongoing investigation under the CGST Act, and the record showed that no arrest proposal had yet been placed before the Commissioner for approval. The Court held that the absence of an imminent arrest did not mean that future arrest was impossible, since the investigation was continuing and the respondents were required to join it. It further held that the impugned direction did not grant blanket protection from all coercive steps or from investigation, but only required prior notice before such action, thereby preserving the Department's right to proceed in accordance with law while affording an opportunity to avail remedies if arrest was proposed.

Conclusion: The direction for seven days' prior notice before coercive action was upheld, and the challenge to the order was rejected.

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